Journal-box lid.



G. A.. WO0DMAN. JOURNAL BOX LID.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 22, 1912.

1,086,008. Patented Feb. 3, i914;

WNTTEE $TATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE A. WOODMAN', OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO KIR-BY EQUIPMENT COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

JOURNAL-BOX LID.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE A. WoonMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in J ournal-Box Lids, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to lids for journal boxes such as are in common use on railway trucks and the like, and has for one of its principal objects the provision of a lid which may be used upon any of the journal boxes of standard forms and construction without adaptation of the journal box to receive the lid and which will, when the lid is in closed position, elfectively seal all adjoining edges of the box and lid.

A further object of the invention is to provide a lid for journal boxes which may be readily opened and closed, and which will be effectively retained in either position.

A still further object of my invention is to so construct the said lid that it may be made of sheet metal, providing thereby a lid which is light, durable and much cheaper to manufacture than the cast-iron lids at present in use.

Additional objects of my invention will be apparent as it is better understood from the following description which, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, illustrates one preferred embodiment thereof.

On the drawing :Figure 1 is a side elevation of a journal box and lid made in pursuance of my invention having a part of the journal box broken away; Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the lid shown in Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the lid taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawing, 10 designates generally a journal box of any desired shape and form provided with the usual aperture in its outer end 11, said aperture being normally closed by a lid 12. This lid is pivotally mounted upon the top of the box by being secured, as will be immediately hereinafter disclosed, to a bolt 13 positioned in the perforated lug 14 with which all journal boxes are provided.

The lid 12 is preferably formed of a single metallic sheet having the bottom and both side edges bent to overlie the walls of the journal box adjacent the usual opening, as at 15 and 16. The top of the lid is cut away beneath the lug, the remaining material of Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 22. 1912.

Serial No. 692,350.

the sheet at that side forming strips 17 which are bent to embrace the bolt 18 upon each side of the lug to .form the bearing eyes 18. These strips are fastened together adjacent their ends by suitable bolts orrivets as at 19, the material of the free ends being continued beyond the said point of fastening and bent inwardly as at 20 to form flanges sealing the adjoining edges of the lid and journal box beneath the eyes 18 when the lid is closed. The'edge of the lid between the eyes 18 is also bent inwardly forming the flange 21 which seals the adjoining edges of the box and lid beneath the lug 1 1. It is thus apparent that the top of the box beneath the lid pivot is efiectively sealed by the flanges 20 and 21 when the lid is in closed position against the entrance of dirt into the box.

The central portion of the lug 1 1 is provided with a fiat bearing surface on its outer vertical face 22 and a flat bearing surface inclined somewhat to the horizontal on its to 23, the two surfaces being connected by the rounded edge 24. Upon the front face 25 of the lid is secured a strong resilient leaf spring 26 by means of rivets 27 or their equivalent. This spring extends beyond the upper edge of the lid as at 28 and engages the surfaces 22 and 23 to yieldingly hold the lid in either open or closed position.

'To assist in retaining the lid in closed position I provide the opposite sides of the lid with rearwardly extending resilient spring fingers 29 adapted to frictionally engage the side walls 31 of the journal box and to embrace the ribs 30 with which some types of boxes are equipped. To lend resiliency to these fingers the material at the sides is preferably cut at 32 back to the plane of the lid.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that while a lid for journal boxes embodying the various features of my invention may be opened and closed it will be yieldingly held in either position by the spring 26, the spring fingers 29 also assisting in retaining the lid in closed position so that the shocks and jars incidental to the travel of the car will not cause the lid to swing away from the box against the force of these yielding devices.

It will be manifest that where alid is made in pursuance of my invention it may Patented Feb. 3, 1914:.

be stamped or pressed from steel or other suitable metal, providing thereby a lid fully as efficient and durable as the cast-iron lids of the present, and which may be manufactured at much less cost.

It will be understood that various changes in the details of construction, the positioning of the lid and the arrangement of the various parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, or sacrificing any of its advantages, the form hereinbefore illustrated and described being merely one preferred embodiment thereof.

I claim 1. A journal box lid formed of sheet metal and having an extension adjacent each end at a side thereof, said extensions being bent to provide bearing eyes and having their ends bent outwardly beneath the said eyes to form closures for the apertures beneath the eyes and between the top wall of the box and the adjacent edge of the lid, and means for closing the space between the edge of the lid and the adjacent edge of the box between said eyes.

2. A journal box lid formed of asuitable metallic sheet provided with extensions upon a side thereof, the said extensions be ing bent to provide bearing eyes and the ends of the said extensions being bent from the plane of the lid to form closures for the apertures beneath the eyes and between the top wall of the box and the adjacent edge of jacent edge of the lid, the said closure being formed by bending back the ends of the extensions beneath the eyes and bending over the edge of the said sheet between the extensions, the said bent-over edge of the sheet being disposed substantially in the same plane with the bent-back ends of the extensions and cooperating therewith to form a substantially continuous seal for the said aperture.

4. A journal box lid formed of sheet metal having a flange at its edge adapted to seal the opening between the box and lid, a portion of the said flange being extended beyond the remainder of said flange and severed from said remainder to provide a spring finger depending from the front face of the lid, the said spring finger being bent to firmly and yieldingly embrace the side of the box to retain the lid in closed position.

GEORGE A. WOODMAN.

l/Vitnesses WM. 0. BELT, M. A. KIDDIE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. 0. 

